Venus & Serena: Just How Good Do They Want To Be

NEW YORK — Venus and Serena Williams got headlines at the U.S. Open, but it was not always for their play on the court. Venus has a new 120-piece clothing collection.

Nothing is more than $19.98 including sneakers which are coming out next year. Serena is into clothing and has a new TV ad. Who is Venus dating? Is one a pro golfer? They were seen holding hands at Wimbledon.

Serena loses to Justine Henin and has nothing good to say about her. Just that her tennis game was off. Of course her tennis game was off. She doesn’t play enough.

She and her sister played fewer than 100 matches heading into the Open. Some players played more than that on their own. What is that all about? Serena won the Australian and Venus won Wimbledon. And then they seemed to coast.

They have had unorthodox careers. They were coached by their parents. They never played in the juniors. They never played too many matches. The never had agents.

They are both great tennis players. Among the best of all time already. But how do they want to be remembered. Do they want to win more majors? Who knows. It is tough to tell at one of their press conferences because it is not always about the tennis.

And how about doubles. They were once the very best in the world. Now they don’t play anymore. They were a great team. People came out to see them play. No one could beat them. Where did all that go. Will we ever see that again.

Serena is 25 and Venus is 27. That’s all. They each have about five good years left. Sure there are injuries, but maybe that derives from not practicing. Who am I to criticize them. They are tremendous players. But to some possible extent it is also about a legacy.

They were both No. 1 in the world. Serena has won eight majors while Venus has won six. They could each have double digits before they retire. Right now, they are no match for Justine Henin. But, she wants it more. She just won the Open.

Henin will win many more majors, because she is that good. But is she better than Serena and Venus at a time that they want to be good. Who knows. Maybe we will never know.

Let’s hope that next year shows us the best Williams possible. Let’s hope that they practice. Let’s hope that the injuries are gone. Maybe they can show us just how good they are one more time.